


The Lightest Kind of Midas Touch

by adolescentlycan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkward Flirting, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:01:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26187625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adolescentlycan/pseuds/adolescentlycan
Summary: In which Shisui is constantly finding himself hurt and hopelessly enamored with the girl who heals him.
Relationships: Nohara Rin/Uchiha Shisui
Comments: 12
Kudos: 15





	The Lightest Kind of Midas Touch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [obitoforpresident (Bibixblocksberg)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibixblocksberg/gifts).



> At one time I thought this would be a two-shot. But I think for the foreseeable future it's going to stand on its own. ♥️
> 
> Their ages are never explicitly stated, but I imagine them being late teens. Rin's around 17, Shisui's a year younger.

The first time Uchiha Shisui lays his eyes on the most beautiful girl in the world, it's through bloody tears thanks to overuse of his mangekyo sharingan.

It’s not the blood that’s bothering him though. Rather, it's the headache that has resulted from relying too heavily on the aforementioned dojutsu. Since returning from his mission a few hours ago, he's been plagued by a never-ending stabbing sensation from just behind his temples. When paired with intense light sensitivity and pain-induced waves of nausea, it's all he can do to not simply crawl into a ball and pray for it to be over.

Which is why he finds himself tucked away in a small room of the hospital. A headache, no matter how debilitating, doesn't rank very highly on anyone's priority list, so he has to wait for a considerable length of time before a young kunoichi finally knocks on the door before joining him in the tiny room.

Even the light knock is too much noise for his pounding headache, like a boulder crashing through a glass castle. Shisui tries to hide a wince as he springs up from the fetal position, massaging his temples and situating himself on the edge of the hospital bed. 

He takes in the medic who's finally arrived. Her hair is disheveled, and her dress is wrinkled and covered in a few dark stains that Shisui sincerely hopes aren't blood. She's clearly several hours into her shift, but it'd be hard to tell just based on the warm, kind expression that graces her face. It's not tired kindness, bogged down by the weight of other people's problems as he so often sees on his younger cousin Itachi's face. This kunoichi is energetic, laying claim to a mesmerizing smile that could easily power the entire village. 

That smile wavers when she sees Shisui's face. "I'm Rin and I'll be helping with your…" She glances down briefly at the clipboard in her hands. "With your headache today."

"It's not as bad as it looks," Shisui offers, trying to offer a smile of his own even though it feels like his head is being split in two by a kunai knife. "It really is just a killer headache." Right on cue, a fresh line of blood starts to trickle down his cheek. He quickly wipes it away with his sleeve.

The kunoichi, Rin, sighs. Shisui doesn't get a chance to further mount his defense before she's climbing up on the hospital bed, assuming a kneeling position directly behind him so that her chest is pressed firmly against his back. She places her hands feather-light on his throbbing temples. In such close proximity, Shisui can't help but notice that she smells like strawberries coated with honey. There's a subtle note of something herbal as well, and he wonders if maybe those stains on her dress were acquired while she was mixing medicines. 

“I’m going to heal you now. Just try and relax,” Rin instructs. 

Shisui’s no stranger to the feeling of medical ninjutsu. He’s often had to be patched up in the middle of a mission by the medic ninja on his team, and it’s always felt like coarse sandpaper scraping against his insides or a hot blade pressed against his skin. He’s never complained though, as he’s always been left feeling mended, even if it’s not without considerable pain first. 

But Rin’s healing touch is nothing like that. The way her chakra brushes against his temples is soothing, like a gentle but persistent flow of water smoothing the harsh edges of stones on a riverbank. Unlike any other medic’s technique, it feels light and cool and fluid.

And it’s over all too quickly. Rin jumps off the bed and writes a few quick notes on his chart while Shisui begins to revel in the fact that his head miraculously feels like it’s no longer about to explode. “I want to check your eyes,” she informs him, foraging through the room’s supply cupboard until she finds a small flashlight. 

“I – oh, okay. My name is Shisui, by the way.”

“I know,” Rin says as she shines the light into his left eye. “It’s on your chart.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Is it true you have a different kind of sharingan?”

“Yeah. It’s called the mangekyo sharingan. I’ve had it since I was a little kid.” Shisui hopes it doesn’t sound like he’s bragging, even if he is. Though if he really wanted to brag, he’d mention that he’s the first to awaken it since the time of Uchiha Madara.

Rin clicks the flashlight off after briefly inspecting his right eye, though she continues to study his face. Shisui chooses to read her expression as _conflicted_. She must know that using the mangekyo sharingan to the point of excess is what landed Shisui in her care, but it’s also a very rare dojutsu possessed by only a handful of Uchiha. Those who see it are typically enemies in battle; it’s not the time to observe curiously. 

"I can show you," Shisui offers when he suspects Rin's conscience is going to win out. "Just for a few seconds," he adds, cutting off her objections. 

He closes his eyes and feels the familiar tingle of chakra behind his eyelids as his dojutsu activates. It's easier, going from complete blackness to the hyper-visual world painted by the mangekyo sharingan. Using it takes considerable chakra, but the adjustment to different visual input when turning it on and off is equally taxing - and part of the reason he ended up with a splitting headache. 

Rin is just inches from his face. His eyes capture every one of her delicate features in unforgettable detail - the shades of brown that blend together to create the warm look in her eyes, the gentle slope of her nose, the sharp lines of the purple marks on her face (Shisui wonders if they're tattoos; if not, how much time must she spend every morning drawing them on so perfectly?), and the way her lips look so soft. 

Rin, however, just blinks at him with a clinical dispassion and Shisui worries he's projected any sense of interest onto her. Not only that, but now he must look like a cocky showoff. 

"Your eyes look different than Obito's, I guess," Rin says. "Thanks for showing me," Her eyes are back on his chart, scribbling a couple more notes down. "I'd recommend using them a little less next time, maybe switching tactics before they start bleeding."

Shisui, sufficiently reprimanded, nods and hops down from the exam table. "You got it."

But when another splitting headache after a particularly taxing training session lands him in the hospital a few weeks later, he can't hide his excitement at seeing Rin again when she appears in his exam room to fix him up.

As far as Shisui can tell, Rin just seems annoyed that he's neglected to follow her expert medical advice.

* * *

Shisui manages to stay out of the hospital for no more than a few months. 

It's not his head this time, though he looks back longingly at the days when a temple-splitting headache was the worst of his problems, because now it's his back that's completely covered in burns, and the pain is worse than anything he's ever felt before. 

The mission was a success, but Shisui finds it hard to care about another victory when his mind is occupied with thoughts of how it feels like someone's skinned his back with a rusted knife. 

This time his injuries are bad enough that he doesn't have to wait long to be seen. A stern-faced man is the one who enters the room, accompanied by a younger medic. He takes one look at Shisui laying on his stomach, then barks out a series of herbs and poultices he wants his assistant to grab. 

The elder man then wastes no time getting to work, standing at the edge of the bed and pressing his hands against Shisui's burned flesh. Shisui bites back a hiss of pain; the light physical touch feels like pure agony, and the sensation of his skin being stimulated into regeneration is anything but relaxing. 

The man is silent as he works, only occasionally humming to himself as he moves to a different region of Shisui's back. Being quiet doesn't come easily to Shisui, but he tries to follow suit. He's not sure what exactly they'd be able to make conversation about anyway - whether the burn mark on his shoulder looks more like a ninken or ninneko?

After some time, there's a light knock on the door that feels familiar even before Shisui hears the visitor speak. 

"Master Haruki?" Rin says. "I have the herbs you asked for. Is it alright if I stay and observe? I've never gotten to watch a burn specialist."

The medic grunts in affirmation. 

"Oh. Hi Shisui," Rin says as she approaches the cot to hover at his right side. "Are you okay with me watching?"

Shisui's back is a mess of blackened flesh and severe burns. He's been trying not to cry for the last half hour, but he can still feel tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. 

He tilts his head to smile at Rin. "Of course."

Rin and the elder medic chat with one another as Shisui closes his eyes and tries to imagine he's anywhere else. Certain words slip through, though. Nerve repair. Regenerative potential. 

It's hard to judge time. Shisui would be willing to guess it takes hours, though perhaps that's because he's trying his best to feign composure while it feels like his back is being massaged with coarse sandpaper. 

Finally the man clears his throat. "That's all I can do today," he announces. "We'll look and see how it looks tomorrow and go from there."

Rin squeezes his hand. "You were very brave, Shisui."

The fact that she feels the need to reassure him makes Shisui suspect that he has not, in fact, maintained the illusion that he was very brave.

He finds himself kept awake that night. It's uncomfortable to sleep on his stomach, never mind the discomfort as his back heals. 

It surprises him when Rin sneaks into his room without knocking. "I made a topical analgesic," she says by way of introduction, showing him the small blue jar in her hand. "Can I try it out?"

Shisui blinks at her blankly. 

"A pain numbing agent," she clarifies. 

"Oh. It doesn't hurt that bad." But before Rin can take that as an invitation to leave, he quickly adds, "But yeah. That would be nice."

Shisui doesn't expect Rin to climb up on the bed and sit on his lower back, her thighs pressed firmly against his sides. She's barely five feet tall and so light, though. Her presence isn't uncomfortable. Not in the slightest. 

"Master Haruki did a good job. You probably won't even scar," she says as she studies the state of the burns on his upper back. 

Shisui hears her open a cap and smells something herbal. "It'll feel a little cold," Rin says by way of warning.

He still shivers when her hands touch his back. 

"Sorry," Rin apologizes, pulling away quickly. 

"It's fine," Shisui says, hoping his voice doesn't give away just how much he craves her touch again. "You should keep going."

Rin lays her hands on him again, fingers working in small circles, pausing only to occasionally scoop more cream out of her little jar. Shisui doesn't know much about medicine, but he can appreciate the smell. Earthy. It feels cool against his feverish skin, though maybe that's more to do with Rin's hands and her gentle healing chakra. 

"What happened?" she asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "On your mission."

Shisui sighs. "It wasn't that bad."

"The medic who did your intake thought we might have to try grafting. They only do that when the skin is damaged beyond any potential for regeneration," Rin says. "So you must have been burned pretty badly."

Shisui is quiet for once in his life, preferring not to recount how he ended up getting so hurt, so Rin continues. "But like I said. Master Haruki is an expert at treating burns."

"I'm not worried about scars," Shisui says. 

Rin hums, laying her open palms on his shoulder blades. "How does this feel?"

"A lot better. Thanks."

Rin climbs off his back and sets the small jar down on the table by the bed. "Someone will have to help you reach your back once you're out of the hospital. But keep applying it once a day and it'll help with the pain while you finish healing."

"What about when I run out?"

Rin smiles warmly. "You know where to find me."

* * *

As hokage, Minato rarely has time to have a proper lunch break. He's fairly confident that Kushina puts his old team up to bothering him at least a few times a week so he actually eats something, even if several scrolls are still propped open on his desk in front of him while he catches up with his former students. 

They're all practically adults now. Kakashi's an ANBU commander. Obito's a jounin with a respectable number of A-rank missions under his belt. And Rin is slowly building up a reputation as a competent medic, splitting her time between the hospital and missions. 

But when he sees them, he can't help but remember them as kids. Especially when they're bickering. As they often do. 

Truthfully, he's not even sure what Obito and Kakashi are fighting about now. The two of them have always been like oil and water. Neither he nor Rin have the energy nor the desire to try and break them up today. 

He unfolds the sandwich Rin packed for him. It's been a few weeks since she was last able to stop by. The hospital has been keeping her busy - from what he hears, every one of the senior healers has been trying to woo her into a formal apprenticeship. Antidote creation Limb regeneration. Organ transplant. There are plenty of specialized skills that Minato doesn't fully understand and thankfully hasn't had reason to learn. 

Rin, however, seems content to refine her general skills for the time being. He's had several people say just how promising of a medic she is. The kind of natural talent that crops up once in a generation. 

Today she's being quiet, though, and not just because her former teammates are growing increasingly loud as they talk over one another.

"What's on your mind, Rin?" Minato asks gently.

Rin blushes, looking down at her untouched sandwich. "Sensei, I mean Lord Fourth-"

"You can always call me Sensei, Rin."

Rin's blush deepens at the gentle correction. "Sensei. Do you think on my next mission outside the village…you could put me on a team with Uchiha Shisui?"

Obito snaps out of his argument with Kakashi mid-sentence at the sound of his clan's name. "Shisui?" he asks Rin. "You could do a lot better."

"Leave Rin alone," Kakashi cuts in. "Just because she doesn't want to go out with you-"

"I wasn't even trying to make it about-"

"You're always trying to stick your head into other people's-"

"Shut up, Bakashi!"

Minato and Rin exchange tired looks as Obito and Kakashi resume their verbal blows. "I'll see what I can do about a mission with Shisui," he promises Rin. 

Rin beams back at him. "I'll take care of these two so you can get back to work. Thanks, Sensei." She wraps her sandwich back up and tucks it in her knapsack, then jumps to her feet. Obito and Kakashi both yelp in surprise when she grabs them by the backs of their shirts and yanks them up, scolding them loudly. "You're making fools of yourselves. Sensei has enough to deal with without you two screaming at each other."

Both Obito and Kakashi look sufficiently reprimanded. They give Minato apologetic looks and mumble apologies before following Rin out the door. 

It's a reminder that Rin always was the peacekeeper on their team. It's only fair that Minato repay the favor by stepping into the role of matchmaker this one time. 

* * *

It's a key part of Minato's job to know all of the jounin in the village - their strengths, weaknesses, track records. He happens to recall that Uchiha Shisui's is close to impeccable. 

It means the missions he's sent on are typically dangerous. Anything less than an A-rank would be an insult at this point in his career. At the same time, as Rin's former sensei he hates the thought of sending her on anything so dangerous. 

But that's exactly where competent medics belong. They're vital on the most dangerous of missions, their skills greatly increasing the odds of everyone coming home in one piece. 

Then again, he's well aware that Rin hasn't requested a mission with Shisui so she can see how well he fights. Something easier will give the two of them more time to talk. 

Honestly, he's quickly realizing it's much easier to be a hokage without trying to play the role of matchmaker on top of it. 

Several mission scrolls are scattered on his desk as he debates what he can assign Rin and Shisui on together. 

That's when Uchiha Shisui enters his office unannounced. For a moment Minato wonders if they had some meeting scheduled. It wouldn't be the first time he's forgotten about something after becoming engrossed in a different task. 

Shisui clears his throat. Minato notices a slight shaking of his hands. "Honorable Lord Fourth, I mean, venerable Lord Hokage, I'd like to request a mission."

Minato's surprise is clear. 

"With Nohara Rin," Shisui adds, then proceeds quickly, "She's the best medic I've seen and I admire her - her skills greatly. I don't care if it's a B-rank or C-rank mission. I just want to work with her."

This turn of events is unexpected yet fortunate. Minato smiles and gestures for Shisui to approach further. He looks at the scrolls he's just unraveled, hoping to find the perfect one for Rin. 

It's there in front of him. An information exchange at a rendezvous point a few days' travel from the village. The mission itself isn't dangerous, but the journey is perilous enough that it's not an insult to assign to a jounin. 

He passes the scroll over to Shisui. "You'll be the jounin in charge. I'll tell Rin I've assigned her to this mission as well. Pick two chunin to round out your team."

Shisui's enthusiastic grin is contagious. 

Minato decides matchmaking might not be so bad after all. 

* * *

Rin hasn't been out of the village in a few weeks. She gets to tag along on missions every so often, but as of late the hospital's been eating up more and more of her time. 

She's pleased that Sensei has put together this squad, even if their objective hardly requires a medic of her skill level. There's a certain amount of risk, but that's true with any mission. Even assigning Shisui to this simple job is probably overkill. 

But then again, Rin is relieved she’s there when Shisui ends up hurt once again. 

They're ambushed and the two chunin with them freeze. Were they a functional squad, no one would have had to get hurt. As it stands, Shisui ends up taking on four enemy shinobi while trying to keep the deadweight members of their team unharmed. 

He's incredibly fast but outnumbered all the same. 

When Rin starts throwing poison-laced knives, the enemy realizes the team they've decided to attack might be more than they bargained for. 

It doesn't hurt that Shisui flashes his mangekyo sharingan at them. 

But once they've retreated, Rin can see that Shisui is bleeding heavily from a deep gash in his chest. 

"We're camping here for the night," she announces, taking charge of their team. She directs the two chunin towards a series of tasks. They both look sheepish, and they should be. It's expected that genin may freeze up when confronted with an enemy attack; she expects better from shinobi who have somehow managed to pass the chunin exam. 

Once the two chunin are occupied, she turns her attention to Shisui. "Can you walk?" she asks. 

Shisui nods. He's tied a makeshift bandage around his chest, but it's already soaked with blood. His complexion is clammy too, and Rin worries that whatever cut him was laced with a poison. She has several basic antidotes with her, but something more complex will require them to head back to the village as quickly as possible. 

"There's a river close by. I like to use water when I clean out wounds," Rin explains. "Follow me."

Shisui's breath is shallow as he struggles to keep up with her brisk pace.

"Shirt off," Rin orders once they're at the riverbank. She reaches into her pack, pulling out bandages, ointments, and her sewing kit in case the wound is too deep to heal with just her chakra. 

With a small basin from her pack, she scoops some of the cool water from the river and plunges her hand into it. There's a soft glow as she lets her chakra saturate the water. It’s an advanced technique she can’t help but be excited to try out.

There are plenty of antiseptics. Rin even has some in her med kit, but she’s found that she prefers a more natural approach to healing. It takes more effort, but she’s observed that the end result is better and that the wounds heal more cleanly. 

She turns her attention back to Shisui. "Lay down on your back," she orders. It's reminiscent of when she treated his burns, and later she’ll have to ask him how they ended up healing, maybe even take a look. But for now there's a wound that needs to be treated. 

Rin settles down, straddling her weight on Shisui’s lap. She’s aware that she’s more tactile than other medics, but she likes being close with her patients. The proximity makes it easier to tune into their chakra and notice the subtle signs of pain that most shinobi try to hide.

She starts by slowly pouring water over Shisui's chest to clean the wound. "Sorry, it's probably a little cold," she apologizes belatedly when Shisui shivers. 

"It's fine."

"So heroic," she teases. The water flows cleanly. Infused with her chakra, it would pick up any simple poison and drain it out, but it seems that's something they don't need to worry about. There’s still the slight chance that there’s a more complex poison at work, but now that Rin can see the wound better, it looks as though all the blood is simply from the depth of the cut.

"Hardly. I should have been able to take them."

Rin is used to stoking another Uchiha's ego. "It was hardly a fair fight," she reminds him. "I should have jumped in sooner."

"You shouldn't have needed to."

Rin smiles down at Shisui. Until recently, he wasn’t on her radar. He was a bit younger than her at the academy, yet somehow finished with school and promoted to chunin before she was close to graduating. 

But recently fate - or rather, Shisui's remarkable propensity to end up injured - has kept bringing them back together. Rin can't help but wish that she could spend time with Shisui in a situation where she's not having to heal him. 

"I don't mind. It was more exciting than working at the hospital," Rin says. She lays her hands over the wound on Shisui's chest and lets her healing chakra flow through the touch. 

She closes her eyes and loses herself in the sensation of healing, of gently molding her chakra so it stimulates the tissue to repair itself. More than harvesting medicinal herbs or learning new techniques, this is the part she loves most of all about being a medic. Being in total control of a person down to their cellular level. Finding what’s broken and coaxing it back to health. 

Her touch lingers once she’s confident the wound is fully healed. She opens her eyes and sees a blush across Shisui’s face. 

Then she feels _it_ pressing against her. 

“Sorry,” Shisui chokes out. “You’re just - you feel really nice.”

Rin shifts her weight and gets a sense of satisfaction from the way Shisui bites back a groan. “No strenuous activity,” she warns. “Or you’ll open the wound back up again.”

The blush on Shisui’s face deepens. 

“I’m serious!” Rin says playfully. “At least a few weeks of taking it easy once we’re back in Konoha. I don’t want to see you in the hospital again any time soon.”

She smiles down at him, enjoying the feeling of power. “But out of the hospital…”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

Rin smiles. “Only if you promise to say yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> When the president asks for some Shisui x Rin, you do your best to deliver. Thanks to Anannua for looking over an earlier draft of this piece; any lingering mistakes are mine.


End file.
